Frank Parker
| Full name | Frank Andrew Parker |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |
 United States
|
| Born |
January 31, 1916 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | July 24, 1997 (aged 81) San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Turned pro | 1949 (oct) (amateur tour from 1930) |
| Retired | 1971 (Hampton last tournament) |
| Plays | Right-handed (1-handed backhand) |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1966 (member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 38–9 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (1948, John Olliff) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| French Open | W (1948, 1949) |
| Wimbledon | SF (1937) |
| US Open | W (1944, 1945) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| French Open | W (1949) |
| Wimbledon | W (1949) |
| US Open | W (1943) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | W (1937, 1948 ) |
Frank "Frankie" Andrew Parker, born as Franciszek Andrzej Pajkowski (January 31, 1916 – July 24, 1997), was a former World No. 1 American male tennis player of Polish immigrant parents who was active in the 1930s and 1940s. He won four Grand Slam singles titles as well as three doubles titles. He was coached by Mercer Beasley.
Parker was born on January 31, 1916 in Milwaukee as Franciszek Andrzej Pajkowski and had three brothers and a sister. He learnt to play tennis at age 10, hitting discarded tennis balls at the Milwaukee Town Club. There he was discovered by the club coach Mercer Beasley who noticed his quickness and accuracy. Aged 12 he won his first national title, the boys' indoor championship played at the Seventh Regiment Armory in New York. At age 15 Paikowski become the national boys' champion in singles, defeating Gene Mako in the final, and a year later, aged 16, he won the national junior singles title as well as the singles title at the Canadian National Championships. In 1933, when he was 17 he won the singles title at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, defeating Gene Mako in the final in straight sets.
Parker is one of the few Americans to win both the French Championships (1948, 1949) and the U.S. Championships (1944, 1945).
Parker became the singles champion at Cincinnati, then called the Tri–State Tennis Tournament in 1941 and was a four-time singles finalist (1932, 1933, 1938, 1939). He won the Canadian title in 1938. He was ranked World No. 1 in 1948 by John Olliff of The Daily Telegraph.
Writing about Parker in his 1949 autobiography, Bobby Riggs, who had played Parker many times, says "Parker is a tough man to get past. Equipped with a wonderful all-court game, he plays intently and with classic form. His footwork is marvelous. You never see Frankie hitting the ball from an awkward position." Jack Kramer, however, writing in his own autobiography, says "...even as a boy [Parker] had this wonderful slightly overspin forehand drive. Clean and hard. Then for some reason, Frankie's coach, Mercer Beasley, decided to change this stroke into a chop. It was obscene." It also impaired his game, particularly in preventing him from getting to the net, and Parker dropped in the rankings. A few years later, however, he worked hard to regain his original forehand and, according to Kramer, did indeed greatly improve his stroke. But it was never again as good as it had once been.
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